'We are all in this together'
1:00pm Friday 27th November 2009 in Sport By Marc Iles
SEAN Davis is confident that Wanderers head to Craven Cottage tomorrow as a united force.
The injured star, and former Fulham favourite, insists the players remain fully behind Gary Megson in their bid to climb out of the bottom three.
And while the midfielder accepts confidence has dipped in the camp after a run of four straight defeats, he has seen no rifts develop while watching from the sidelines.
“I have been at a few clubs and there have been some pretty difficult people,” he said. “But from where I am standing it is a good group.
“I haven’t had the whole season there, since the injury I’ve only been in twice a week, and I haven’t been on the training ground and stuff like that. But I think it’s a close-knit group. I have been at football clubs where people make trouble and do make things difficult.
“I haven’t seen that at this club. There are no hard personalities that don’t seem to get on, they are just going through a tough time on the pitch. Confidence isn’t there at the moment.”
Davis has seen every home game since undergoing a knee injury 10 weeks ago, and will be given regular updates tomorrow afternoon.
And he believes the key to earning a long-awaited league win in west London could hinge on Wanderers’ ability to defend more effectively than they have in recent weeks.
“We’re conceding goals but that doesn’t just come from defence,” he said. “You have to defend from the front. As a team we’re not playing right. People see we’re leaking goals and automatically say it’s the back four — but it’s not, it’s the whole team.
“We need to stick together — and that’s the whole club — and if you want to blame someone then blame everyone. Don’t go singling people out.”
Davis was groomed by Kevin Keegan as a youngster at Fulham, spending eight years at the club before signing for Tottenham in 2004.
The Cottagers remain close to his heart, but the 30-year-old will only be in contact with one dressing room in the build-up.
“It’s been a long time since I played for Fulham,” he said. “I still look out for them but this weekend it’s all about us.
“It’s a big game and I think we can definitely get something out of it. Three points would be brilliant but I don’t think we can afford to lose.
“It’s difficult watching. I’m not the best at it but I still want to be involved, to go in the changing room and see the lads.
“It’s hard to see them go through a bad spell at the moment but every team has them. I’d rather it be now than at the end of the season.”
Davis accepts that he is highly unlikely to play again this season, after damaging his articular knee cartilage in August.
But he claims he still has a role to play in the dressing room.
“I just abuse the lads — it’s not a problem,” he said. “I abused Matt Taylor for missing a header from five yards out the other day and I had a bit of banter with Sam Ricketts for that own goal. You have to do these things, you can’t go tip-toeing around people. You need a bit of banter.”
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